Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1249: Artificial Soul

A dark shadow flashed past the entrance. One of the two guards stationed there was struck hard in the abdomen before he could react, collapsing instantly. The attacker snatched his weapon in the same motion.

As the blaring alarms filled the air, every gaze turned toward the intruder.

Several guards immediately surrounded Mr. House, while the squad leader barked rapid orders. In the next second, several tongues of flame burst from muzzles, and streams of bullets poured toward the intruder.

But the intruder moved with astonishing agility—like a giant black cat—slipping behind cover in an instant.

“What’s going on? Why is there an intruder?” Mr. House’s expression darkened in fury as he shot an accusing look at Jimmy.

Jimmy shook his head, his furrowed brows showing confusion as well. He clearly hadn’t expected this either.

Still, there was only one intruder. The facility had plenty of guards, all well-armed—there was no real reason to fear. Under the captain’s command, seven guards began cautiously advancing toward the intruder’s hiding spot.

Behind the cover, the woman glanced at the weapon she’d taken—a Kalashnikov 1974.

“So this is this civilization’s weapon…” she muttered under her breath. Her fingers quickly traced a dark-red sigil along the grip—once it sank into the metal, the gun seemed to gain a strange semblance of life.

Then, she swiftly drew two more sigils onto her boots. Taking a slow breath, she crouched and pushed off with force.A blur of black shot out from behind cover. Before anyone could react, gunfire erupted—short, sharp, like firecrackers bursting in succession.

Only seven shots rang out. Yet all seven guards collapsed at once—each with a single bullet through the forehead, at the exact same spot. Instant deaths, one after another.

Seven precise headshots during a high-speed dash—it might have seemed impossible to scientists watching, but the other guards immediately understood what it meant. A chill crept through the room.

The captain’s jaw tightened. “Everyone be careful! This one’s had top-tier agent training! Escort the Boss out—now!”

“An agent…” Mr. House frowned deeply. “Could it be them…”

Thoughts raced through his mind, but there was no time to dwell. Surrounded by bodyguards, he retreated quickly down another passage.

But the intruder had no intention of letting them escape. In a burst of motion, she ran along the wall—defying gravity—her Kalashnikov spitting bullets nonstop.

With every shot, another guard fell silently. By the time only three rounds remained in the magazine, just one guard was left standing—the captain.

Landing lightly on the floor, the woman held her rifle like a sword, approaching step by step.

The captain stood protectively before Mr. House, while the researchers huddled behind tables and machines, trembling.

Mr. House took a deep breath. Though pale, he forced himself to stay calm. This wasn’t the first time he’d faced danger; it reminded him of the war in his youth.

“Who sent you?” he asked coldly.

“No one.” She shook her head casually. “I’m not working for anyone. I came here to handle a problem.”

“Do we have a conflict of interest?”

“Not at the moment,” she said with a faint smile beneath her silver visor. “And in the future… we won’t either.” Slowly, she raised her rifle.

“What do you want? Wealth, power, technology—I can give you anything.” Sweat beaded on Mr. House’s forehead. “Just stop this madness. No matter how skilled you are, I can seal this place off. You won’t escape. I built this facility over ten years!”

“That’s not necessarily true,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t have a key, but I got in anyway, didn’t I? You really think this place can hold me?”

“She’s out of ammo—!”

The captain suddenly realized, pulling his trigger without hesitation. A Kalashnikov magazine only held so many bullets—no way she still had any left after that acrobatic massacre.

Bang!

“Oh, I’ve got some left.”

“…Impossible…”

The one who fell—was the captain himself.

Mr. House froze, terror gripping him as the intruder strode toward him. His last line of defense was gone.

“Don’t do anything rash,” he stammered, backing away until his back hit a large containment pod. His eyes darted around for help—but all the researchers were hiding, peeking fearfully from their cover. None dared move.

He spotted Jimmy behind a console. The assistant’s eyes met his—filled with fear and hesitation.

The intruder stopped before Mr. House, pressing the rifle’s muzzle against his chest. Whatever composure he had left crumbled. His breathing quickened, his face went pale, and his body trembled.

Her gaze drifted past him to the observation window of the containment pod.

“So this is what you call… cloning, right?” she said with a faint smirk. “If I’m not mistaken, the one inside is your clone?”

“We can talk, can’t we, madam?” Mr. House caught the hint of interest in her tone.

She said evenly, “If I recall correctly, cloning of a Doaist Master isn’t exactly permitted, is it? You’re dying, aren’t you?”

At that, the old man’s fear began to fade, replaced by a strange calm. “You’ll never understand the desperation of an old man clinging to life,” he said hoarsely. “If I had the ability to escape death, why wouldn’t I try?”

“I don’t care whether you’re dying or not,” she replied lightly. “But I am interested in how you replicated life. Has it developed consciousness yet?”

Mr. House hesitated, but the barrel pressing into his chest forced an answer. “Its body is stabilizing. We’ve detected brainwave activity. The cerebral cortex became active last month—we believe consciousness has begun to form.”

“I see.” She tilted her head. “But you still haven’t mastered consciousness transfer, have you? So even if you create a clone, it’s just another life—not truly you.”

Mr. House said nothing.

She sneered. “Honestly, I prefer honest people. There’s something else you’re hiding… The Zero Gene.”

“How do you know about that?!” he cried, eyes widening.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” She tapped his cheek with the rifle barrel. “Now tell your researchers to finish the final step. I want to see your technology.”

As Mr. House looked down, deep in thought, she suddenly kicked him sharply in the knee. He fell to the ground, and she yanked the handgun from his belt. “Be good now.”

It was his last weapon. His face turned ashen—he still couldn’t tell what she was after.

“Doctor,” he rasped, “come out and continue the experiment!”

But none of the researchers dared move.

Two quick gunshots cracked through the air. “I don’t miss,” she said coldly. “Would you like to test that?”

Finally, a young researcher crawled trembling from cover.

A bizarre scene unfolded—a lone intruder, in mere minutes, had killed every guard and taken control of the facility.

A few researchers had tried to sneak out, but the doors refused to open. Even the passcodes were useless.

The woman in the black leather coat sat leisurely at a desk, crossing her legs and eating a chocolate left there, surrounded by corpses, while the terrified researchers resumed their work in silence.

Jimmy, glancing at the mysterious woman, moved to Mr. House’s side. When she didn’t stop him, he helped the old man up.

“B-boss…”

“Don’t act rashly.” Mr. House steadied his breathing. “Help me over there.”

Jimmy nodded, supporting him toward the intruder. But there was a fleeting flash of doubt in his eyes.

When they reached her, Mr. House asked in a low voice, “How much do you know about the Zero Gene?”

“In this world, only a very small number of people carry this gene,” she said slowly. “Its appearance follows no pattern, and those who carry it share nothing in common. One might be a genius, another a madman, or perhaps just an ordinary janitor… Likewise, no matter how talented someone is, it doesn’t mean they’ll have it. The Zero Gene thus became something impossible to replicate—though it can seemingly be artificially created. And that, I suppose, is the key to your rebirth, isn’t it?”

Mr. House fell silent, then, with Jimmy’s help, slowly sat down. “There was once a brilliant biologist,” he began. “I considered him the greatest genius of this century. While working on the Human Genome Project, he accidentally discovered the existence of the Zero Gene. But such a discovery would have overturned the entire world… So, instead of publishing it, he used the Zero Gene’s discovery to reverse-engineer humanity’s genetic structure, pushing the mapping of the human material genome to 99.999% completion.”

As he spoke, Mr. House studied the intruder’s expression, but she remained utterly calm, so he continued. “With that discovery, the genius received a major scientific award six years ago. I became deeply interested in his work, so I approached him and offered funding to continue his research. But around the same time, another power seemed to set its sights on him…”

The intruder unwrapped another piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth without a word.

Mr. House said grimly, “That mysterious organization was far more dangerous than I imagined… But they hadn’t extended their reach into China, so I moved my operations here, allowing the scientist to continue his work. Finally, when the research was complete—they appeared.”

“So your precious results ended up in their hands,” she said casually.

Mr. House sneered. “Isn’t that obvious?”

She chuckled. “Old man, don’t tell me you think I’m one of them?”

“You’re not?” Mr. House frowned.

“Think whatever you like,” she shrugged. “According to your story, that mysterious organization already took the research results. So what happened afterward? You still kept working on it?”

Mr. House nodded. “I suffered heavy losses that time. The genius scholar was taken. Fortunately, a few of his students escaped. It took me a long time to rebuild the lab and resume the original experiment… But the most crucial part was missing, and I only recovered it recently. That’s why this research finally has a chance to succeed.”

“Then that organization has probably already succeeded long before you,” she sneered.

“I don’t care whether they did or not,” Mr. House said flatly. “As long as my project succeeds, that’s all that matters.”

“Typical,” she mocked. “I’ve seen plenty like you—rich old men at death’s door, suddenly obsessed with immortality.”

“What exactly do you want?” This time, the voice wasn’t Mr. House’s—it was Jimmy’s.

He was staring straight at the mysterious woman, as if trying to see through her.

The woman smiled. “I told you—I’m here to deal with a problem. And now, I’d like to see how this artificial Zero Gene is actually born. Oh, and there’s one thing you might not realize yet… You’ve already begun touching the true forbidden zone of life. Compared to the artificial Zero Gene, I’d rather call it…”

She paused, her silver visor gleaming faintly as she smiled.

“...the Artificial Soul.”

(End of Chapter)